Thursday, July 28, 2011

Our dear friend, Yvonne Schmidt, has had her own chart success this month-- Number 45 on the Top-50 Blues Chart for both the Roots Music Report and Cashbox Magazine! Beating-out Eric Clapton for number of plays last week! (see story in blog entry below)

Since we had a little bit of a hand in the promotional efforts, we'll bask in a little of the glory, too. But congratulations definitely go out to Yvonne, and our former Buffalo-homeboy, Nashville producer Tom Hambridge, who helped Yvonne make a great record deserving of all of the radio exposure. Congratulations on the success; here's to much more!

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Why so Shakespearean? No reason, really, I guess I've just been wondering again what it would be like to direct William Shatner and Adam West in a feature film... "That's right, old chum!"

Anyway, a bunch of gigs you should be aware of in August (check our main site's calendar, and/or your local listings for specifics and rain policies)-- We will be in Orchard Park, Tonawanda (St. Christopher's), and Attica this coming month, as well as making our Annual Pilgrimage to Vizzi's in Kenmore. Come out and see the band, and say "hi" to the wire-y and ever jocular T-Bone Blasting... also, for the folks in-the-know and on-the-list, we will be making our triumphant return to Schrantzfest 2011 in early September.

Things over at The Sonic Vault are going quite well this summer (a new demo, and a new album won't be far behind, at the rate we've been tracking/enjoying the new central air-conditioning in the studio).

Also, Your Mighty No-Stars (along with our friend The Divine Miss Y-- vocalist Yvonne Schmidt) have had a track picked-up by Valleyarm Distribution for an East Coast Blues compilation that will be released on iTunes on August 14th! Look for Absolute New York Blues coming your way soon!

Speaking of Yvonne Schmidt, we have been helping her with a promotional campaign for her new album, Foolproof, and things have been going swimmingly... She has had tracks from the new record broadcast on terrestrial radio stations from Hawaii to New Jersey, and was recently picked-up by the syndicated roots program Blues Deluxe, on 104 stations worldwide! Read the press release below, and Go Yvonne! Look for her name on an upcoming Roots Report Blues Chart; she's a shoe-in!

Buffalo’s own Blues and Rockin’ Soul diva Yvonne Schmidt is back with her second solo release, Foolproof, on the Wild In Blue Productions label. Produced by Grammy award-winner Tom Hambridge (Susan Tedeschi, Buddy Guy), and featuring some of Nashville’s finest musicians and songwriters supporting Ms. Schmidt, this ten-track album is the perfect vehicle to showcase Yvonne’s roots-y, but polished vocal style.

Having worked with Hambridge and company on her first album, 2002’s Nothing But Blue, Yvonne was more than ready when it came time to record with Hambridge again. “Tom really knows how to treat an artist. He knows what I need to hear musically to be inspired, he knows how to frame my vocals, and it’s always a pleasure to work with him and his crew. It doesn’t hurt that Nashville is a lot warmer than Buffalo in the winter months!”

Advanced copies of Foolproof that have been sent to press and radio are already causing a stir in the Blues community— an album track has been featured on Blues Deluxe, an internationally syndicated program with millions of listeners; and Buffalo’s own dean of Blues radio DJ’s, Jim Santella, recently played a pre-release copy on his Saturday afternoon show. High-octane vocals, propelled by solid musicianship and quality original material, will excite radio programmers and media pros, as well as listeners looking for new sounds in the Blues, Roots, and Americana genres. Benefiting from a production style gleaned from work with the likes of world-class talent such as Susan Tedeschi and Buddy Guy, Hambridge’s musical settings for “The Divine Miss Y’s” vocal explorations put this collection of songs in a new category—“Must Have Blues.” Another track from the new record, called interestingly enough—“The Right Track,” has also been selected for a digital East Coast Blues compilation that will be distributed by Valleyarm on iTunes. The compilation will be called Absolute New York Blues, and will also feature artists such as Dave Fields, and Buffalo’s own Gregg Juke & The Mighty No-Stars. Valleyarm will be marketing the iTunes compilation worldwide, but will be focusing targeted attention on Australia and the Pacific Rim territories. Absolute New York Blues is scheduled for release on August 1st, 2011. Once Yvonne’s record has been released worldwide, she would like to tour with a crack band behind her. As much as she loves to record, it is the stage that she really calls “home,” musically speaking. She has been a fixture on the Buffalo regional scene since the early 90’s, and having the chance to work with world-class musicians, and bring her own music to Blues fans has been a goal that she has been happy to obtain. In the same category as Janiva Magness, E.G. Kight, and Shemekia Copeland, but definitely in a class all her own, Yvonne Schmidt is here to stay with her sophomore effort, Foolproof, on the Wild In Blue Productions label.

Foolproof is available from Wild In Blue Productions via digital distribution at www.YvonneSchmidt.net, CDBaby.com, iTunes, and most major digital retailers, and at finer record stores worldwide through Super D One-Stop Distribution. Look for Absolute NY Blues from Valleyarm Distribution on iTunes in August 2011. Yvonne is available for radio or print interviews, and promo copies of the CD are available for review. Media needs (interviews, CD’s, hard-copy press kits, etc.), may be directed to Gregg Juke at RhythmGJ@Yahoo.com, or for more information, visit www.YvonneSchmidt.net.